Welcome Back
by Reidluver
Summary: Tsuna could hear them now. How would they react? What could he do? As the voices grew closer and the stomping more erratic, his chest constricted to the point where he thought it would burst. His Family was coming. TYL!Tsuna


**Okay, so I know that the whole TYL confrontation with Tsuna has been done a few times before, but I wanted to try my hand at it. I'm quite certain mine is different than most and I thank you for taking the time to read my version. Please enjoy! Be prepared for major fluff!**

**Oh, and I don't know how long it's been that Tsuna was dead, so let's just go with my speculation, okay?  
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Tsuna took a deep breath and glanced at the forest around him. Any minute now his Family was going to come charging towards him. Shouichi had sent them his way as soon as they all woke up from the machine. They were to meet at one of the many entrances to their underground facility, seeing as how headquarters was undoubtedly a pile of rubble since he "died." Rebuilding was definitely at the top of their to-do list.

The Vongola Tenth Boss rubbed his stiff neck. How were they all going to react? How was _he_ going to react? Judging by the date that Shouichi had so kindly informed him of via radio, Tsuna had been dead for a year (though in all honesty it felt like a few minutes, with their impossible mission being so successful) and the last thing he did was make his Family believe he died.

Tsuna's body froze as the fear and guilt of just what he had done to his Family truly hit him. The three-man plan to save the future and all parallel worlds was quite a hasty one, but with Shouichi's genius and Tsuna's own hyper intuition, they felt it was the best option. The _only_ option.

What had happened after he died? Tsuna absently kicked a patch of dirt and decided he didn't want to think about it. The guilt was already too much to bear. It was almost enough that he didn't want to be seen by the Family he had so powerfully hurt, but the desire he felt to just be able to see and touch them again was too much. He loved them too much to leave. He was too selfish. Even if they couldn't forgive him for what he did, at least he'd be able to see them all one last time.

He could hear them now. A rumble of voices tearing through the woods to his location. Tsuna took another deep breath and glanced upwards at the surrounding trees. He tried to distract himself from the prickling in his eyes by staring at the treetops. As the voices grew closer and the stomping more erratic, Tsuna's chest constricted to the point where he thought it would burst.

He couldn't move. He was kept rooted to the spot by two overwhelming, conflicting emotions. One was to flee, and the other was to run with outstretched arms towards the Family he loved so much.

And there they were.

The tears Tsuna had been trying so hard to keep at bay came rushing out with no sign of stopping. The sight before him was too beautiful for words. His entire body was overcome with love for the people before him. His soul itched to be among them once again.

They were all standing there, panting from running and anticipation. Tsuna's gaze slowly trailed over each of them as they all just stared, none of them daring to say a word. He saw Lambo, I-pin, Basil, Haru, Kyoko, Yamamoto, Ryohei, Hibari, Chrome, Lal, Shouichi, and Gokudera. They were all staggered before him, stopped in their tracks when their feet could walk no further.

The one closest to Tsuna was Gokudera, and it was he that Tsuna took a step forward towards. "Gokudera . . . I—"

What happened next was so shocking it took Tsuna a minute to wrap his brain around it. One moment he was walking towards his right-hand man, and the next he was landing butt-first on the ground a few feet away from Gokudera, whose fist was raised.

Tsuna raised a hand to his sore jaw and tried to put two and two together. Before he could, the silence that had been sustained in the clearing for so long erupted.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Gokudera yelled. Tsuna tried to come up with an answer, but he was too busy trying to deal with the fact that Gokudera had just _hit_ him.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?" the silver-haired man continued, fists trembling as he yelled. "Having to watch you gunned down by the Millefiore bastards and not being able to do anything! It's just not fair!" It was then that Tsuna noticed the stream of tears falling down Gokudera's face.

"It's just not fair!" Gokudera collapsed to his knees and buried his face in his hands as he succumbed to the violent tremors that consumed his entire body. His cries from then on were muffled and sporadic, but Tsuna was able to make sense of some of it.

" . . . watch you die . . . hate myself . . . not able to protect you . . . couldn't believe it . . . alive the whole time . . . missed you . . . wish it never happened . . ."

Tsuna shakily pushed himself up off the ground and walked over to Gokudera, unable to stop himself from weeping openly. His dear friend was still muttering underneath his breath and it broke Tsuna's heart to know that he reduced such a strong man to that state. But all that mattered now was that Tsuna was able to fix what he had broken.

He had done all he could to have his Guardians gone when the meeting came, but he was unable to sway Gokudera and Yamamoto from leaving his side. When he tried to bring up the false missions he had planned for them, the two of them respectfully refused, claiming that they couldn't leave him alone. And to Tsuna's frustration, all the other Guardians agreed and Ryohei even offered to take on a second mission just to make sure Tsuna wasn't alone. He fought with them as much as he could, but in the end he couldn't do anything about it.

Thankfully, the man Shouichi had chosen to shoot him was so experienced and talented that he was able to get three bullets in before his two faithful Guardians could even blink. As he succumbed to the effects of the altered bullets, he almost felt his heart break at the sight of pure anguish and regret in his Guardians' eyes. It was the reason why he didn't want any of them near him in the first place. Seeing them like that almost made him want to spill the secret, just to them so they wouldn't worry, but he held firm. He had to convince everyone that he was dead, and as much as he hated to admit it, tricking his Guardians was the only way. There was no way they could fake the sorrow they would feel at his death. Tsuna only hoped that all of this would be solved before his Guardians did anything stupid.

Tsuna dropped to his knees without hesitation and wrapped his arms tightly around Gokudera. "I'm so sorry for doing that to you," he whispered. "C-Can you forgive me?"

Gokudera let out a garbled laugh. "O-of course, Tenth! Why wouldn't I?" Then he wrapped his own arms around Tsuna to complete the embrace.

The worry that had been clutching Tsuna's heart slowly evaporated, and he felt himself melt in his friend's arms. Gokudera's fingers painfully dug into his skin, but Tsuna ignored it. It was like Gokudera was too afraid to let go of Tsuna. Like he would disappear again.

When it became obvious that Gokudera wasn't going to let go anytime soon, Tsuna carefully pulled away to look his friend in the eyes. Gokudera's face was all blotchy and red, but Tsuna could see the devotion, happiness, and love swimming around in those green eyes of his.

"I'm sorry," Tsuna repeated as he gently brushed away some of Gokudera's steadily flowing tears. He then lifted his gaze upwards and stood to meet the rest of his Family. "I'm so sorry, everyone."

There wasn't a dry face in sight, except for Hibari's, though Tsuna had no idea what his face looked like. The man had his back up against a nearby tree and his head was tilted away from them.

Yamamoto then stepped forward, looking like he was in a daze. When he saw Tsuna's eyes on him, he tried to turn his lips up into a smile, but failed. Yamamoto blinked furiously, staring at Tsuna like he was a ghost.

"Tsuna, you . . . I-I just. . . what—"

The swordsman then charged forward and nearly tackled him. Tsuna found himself smothered by Yamamoto's long arms and he barely had room to breathe over the other man's shoulders. Yamamoto's body trembled as he hugged Tsuna and he wept bitterly, unable to speak.

Tsuna could only cry alongside his friend as he tried to console him by rubbing circles into his back. He felt especially guilty leaving Yamamoto because he "died" just a few weeks after Yamamoto's own father did. He hated having to leave his friend when the grief of his old man was still all too fresh, but Tsuna had no choice. However, if Tsuna's prediction came true, then the beloved sushi cook would have been brought back to life as well. He'd have to confirm that with Shouichi later though.

After a few moments, Yamamoto slowly ended the hug and stepped back. He then fixed Tsuna with such a warm and gentle smile Tsuna easily found a similar one breaking out on his own face. Yamamoto's smiles were always a source of inspiration for him.

Tsuna turned to the next person in line. "You want to punch me too, big bro?" He chuckled at the look on Ryohei's face. It was well-known to everyone that if Ryohei was ever truly mad at someone, all it took was one punch and he'd be fine. When asked, he explained that it had to do with a man's _extreme_ pride.

"No," Ryohei said, wiping his tears with a small sob. "Octopus-head did a good enough job. But you get an EXTREME hug from me!" It was only from years of experience that Tsuna was able to expel any excess air from his lungs in time for Ryohei to grab him in a bone-crushing hug. Tsuna was lifted up off the ground and stayed there. Even though he had undergone a major growth spurt a couple years ago, he was still slightly smaller than his friends—as frustrating as that was.

As Ryohei sobbed into Tsuna's jacket, the brown-haired man idly wondered what condition his suit would be by the end of the night. It was already starting to stick to him after being drenched by Gokudera and Yamamoto's tears. Now Ryohei was adding his own as well. And Tsuna would cry along with him as well, if he could breathe.

He was always in awe at Ryohei's _extreme_ athletic talent and dedication. Of course, Yamamoto's athletic ability was nothing to scoff at, but Ryohei's was definitely unique. Tsuna would always remember the shock at discovering that the boxer did everything with a dying will. Later, Tsuna came to admire that zeal in his Sun Guardian and made a note to always make sure that dying will never faded. He had been worried that his death would have a negative affect on Ryohei's enthusiasm, but judging by the way he was nearly snapping all of Tsuna's ribs—it was safe to say he had nothing to worry about.

Tsuna waited until the last possible moment. "I-I can't breathe, big bro!" At his cry, Ryohei quickly set him down, looking a little sheepish.

"I apologize t-to the EXTREME!" Ryohei cried, still trying to dry his tears with the back of his hands.

"It's all right." Tsuna reached out and pat Ryohei's arm, getting a smile from the boxer in return. Tsuna then turned his attention back to the rest of his Family, but before he could take another step someone barreled into him and wrapped their arms around him tightly as they wept.

"I-I was s-s-so worried for thee, Sawada-dono!" Tsuna broke into another wide smile. _Basil_. He returned the hug with just as much vigor.

"How have you been, Basil?" Tsuna asked as he calmly stroked the man's light brown hair. "I'm sorry I couldn't see you before any of this happened." Basil had been on a scouting mission just before the Millefiore meeting and as such, Tsuna hadn't seen him for quite some time. The CEDEF member had been foremost on his mind when he sat down at the "suicidal" meeting.

To mentally and emotionally prepare himself for what he knew had to come to pass, Tsuna had made an effort to see all his Family members beforehand without seeming too conspicuous. As painful as it was, seeing them all helped him gain the confidence to do what needed to be done, because he was reminded just who he was doing it for. Basil was the only one he hadn't been able to see and Tsuna regretted it dearly.

Since they both learned how to fight with a Dying Will, Tsuna always felt a special connection with Basil. There was also the fact that he was able to train with Tsuna's father, and whenever the two of them were together on one of their rare times off, it always felt like they were brothers.

"It's all r-right, Sawada-dono," Basil cried. "I understand th-thy . . . thy reasons."

"Thank you, Basil." Tsuna tightened his hug for a moment and then they broke apart. Basil gave him a small smile and backed up towards Ryohei who slung an arm around the younger man.

Tsuna turned to the next two in line a little fearfully. They were looking at him with tears in their eyes but they looked so confused. Tsuna figured this would happen, and he felt guilty.

"I didn't know you d-died, Tsu-kun," Kyoko said slowly, looking like she would faint any moment.*

"Why didn't anyone let Haru know what happened to Tsuna?" Haru yelled, turning to everyone with the harshest glare Tsuna had ever seen her give.

"No—it's okay!" Tsuna said quickly, rushing up to meet them. He grabbed both of their hands and gave them each a warm smile. "While I didn't know for sure if they'd tell you or not, I feel it was for the better. Both of you would have had enough to deal with having the Millefiore hunting you down, and I wouldn't want you to worry like that. I'm really sorry though."

Kyoko and Haru seemed surprised by Tsuna's eager plea and glanced at each other silently. A moment passed between them and they each nodded firmly. Before Tsuna could move, the two girls withdrew their hands from his, and in one swift motion, slapped his face.

Tsuna just stood there, frozen in shock as an identical red welt appeared on each cheek.

"We don't completely understand—," Kyoko began.

"—but Haru and Kyoko both forgive Tsuna!" Haru finished.

The two sobbing girls then hugged Tsuna who was slowly recovering from shock. As their tears soaked his already wet suit, Tsuna blinked himself out of his daze and wrapped his arms around them.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his tears returning. Then he kissed the top of their heads. "Things will be a lot better now. I promise."

Kyoko and Haru giggled as they pulled back from Tsuna's embrace. Then they each gave him a quick peck on the cheek, making Tsuna turn beet red in response.

"If Tsu-kun says so—"

"—then we believe him!"

As a few people sniggered at Tsuna's embarrassment, I-pin stormed up to him and folded her arms. Tsuna gulped in worry, knowing that even though the girl had stopped being an assassin to work through college, her skills were quite powerful. Not to mention the fact that with all the trouble with the Millefiore she undoubtedly was putting her skills to good use. And his body had been lying still for the past year so he didn't think he was up for much fighting.

"H-hello, I-pin."

The girl glared at him and stomped her foot. "You're such an idiot!" she cried before running into his arms.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to be told that a lot in the next few days," Tsuna said with a sheepish laugh. As I-pin continued to cry in his arms, Tsuna gently rubbed circles on her back. As skilled as she was, one had to remember that she was just a kid. Thankfully she had begun learning Japanese three years after they first met her, and that made things a lot easier. And Tsuna couldn't have been happier when I-pin decided to stop being an assassin and go to college. Even though he was the Vongola boss and "lost his innocence" as Reborn termed it, he couldn't help but want it to be different for those younger than him.

"I can't believe you guys are all getting worked up over this idiot coming back." Everyone turned towards the voice to discover it was Lambo. He stood there with his arms folded and he glared at Tsuna. "J-just go back where you came from!"

"Why you little—"

Tsuna held up a hand to silence his Storm Guardian. "I'll handle this," he whispered. He gave I-pin a small smile and kiss on the forehead before making his way over to the moody teen. He locked gazes with Lambo, who quickly turned away and stuffed his hands into his pockets. His shoulders shook with tension as he obviously did his best not to cry. Tsuna watched sadly as Lambo's jaw clenched in a futile effort to stop the flowing tears.

"I'm sorry for hurting you like that, Lambo," Tsuna said, placing a hand on Lambo's shoulder.

Lambo flinched from the touch and was unable to hold back the sobs any longer. "W-why would that make me sad, idiot?" Then he whipped around and plowed his face into Tsuna's chest, sobbing just as powerfully as he did when he was five. Tsuna merely smiled and carefully ran his fingers through Lambo's unruly hair. Lambo had changed so much since they first met, yet at the same time he didn't. He still was a crybaby (thankfully not as much), he had the idealist notion that he was utterly irresistible to females, and his continued fetish with cows baffled everyone.

However, he did become more serious about fighting, and was actually on his way to getting pretty good. Of course, he was nowhere near the level of the other Guardians, but as Tsuna kept pointing out (mainly to Gokudera), Lambo was ten years younger than them so it was expected. Tsuna still held his firm belief that he didn't want Lambo to fight since he was so much younger, but now Lambo more or less understood his position as the Thunder Guardian so he went about his job more seriously.

"Don't get your snot all over the Tenth's jacket, stupid cow!"

Lambo tightened his grip on Tsuna but lifted his head high enough to glare at Gokudera. "S-shut up, Stupidera! At least I'm not the one that punched him!"

Tsuna watched in fear as Gokudera's eyes widened and the man looked back and forth from Tsuna's face to his hand. After a moment, it seemed like it finally clicked in Gokudera's brain just what he had done. He immediately dropped to his knees.

"I'M SO SORRY, TENTH!" Gokudera wailed as he repeatedly banged his forehead on the ground. "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT CAME OVER ME! I'M NOT WORTHY—"

"Gokudera! Stop!" Tsuna almost felt a need to bang his _own_ head against something. He had worked so hard to get Gokudera to stop his bad habit of punishing himself, but it seemed like in his shock all that had gone to waste. "I'm not angry at you!"

"Well, I am."

Without warning, Hibari rushed forward and smacked Tsuna with his tonfas, sending the Vongola Decimo out of Lambo's arms and into a tree a few feet away. Before Tsuna could gasp from the pain Hibari had him pined against the tree with a tonfa at his throat.

"H-Hibari . . ." Tsuna gasped.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Stop!"

"Have you lost it?"

Hibari ignored all the shouting and leaned in closer to Tsuna, nearly growling. Tsuna watched sadly as a brief flash of pain reflected in Hibari's eyes before it was replaced by anger.

"Get away from the Tenth, you bast—"

Tsuna held up a hand to silence his Guardians. "It's all right," he wheezed, then re-focused his attention on Hibari.

"I may have agreed and kept silent about your plan, herbivore," Hibari said, pushing the tonfa harder on Tsuna's windpipe, "but that doesn't mean I had to like it."

Tsuna gave a small nod. "I know, Hibari." A few tears rolled down his face. "And I'm sorry."

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Hibari sighed and released Tsuna, letting him gasp and wheeze on the ground. "Che. If you ever try to pull a stunt like that again herbivore—I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna laughed weakly as he massaged his throat. "I . . . don't doubt it." Hibari glared at him one last time before walking away and disappearing into the forest.

A slender hand blocked his vision and Tsuna followed it to see Chrome smiling at him. He smiled back and grasped her hand, allowing her to help get him back on his feet.

Chrome blushed and brushed away a few of her tears. "It's nice to see you again, Boss."

"Nice to see you, too," Tsuna said. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, making her blush even harder. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's all right," she said. Then she wrapped her arms around him and cried softly. Tsuna embraced her as well and gently rubbed her back. Because of her connection to Mukuro, it was hard to get people outside of the Family to accept her, even though she proved her worth time and time again. Tsuna couldn't make people think of her kindly, but he and the rest of the Family did their best to let her know she always had a home with them.

When they pulled away, Chrome glanced up at him with the widest smile he had ever seen her have and said, "Mukuro-sama said that he's on his way and that he's going to punish you for making him believe that he could no longer possess your body."

Everyone gasped at Chrome's bold announcement.

"_What?_"

"Isn't he still in the Vendice prison?"

"Why'd they let him out?"

"How did this happen?"

"Calm down everyone!" Shouichi said. He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "During the battle, Fran from Varia released him from the prison and he played a vital role against the Millefiore!"

"So what?"

"He's just going to try and kill the Tenth!"

"We can't—"

"Everyone, wait!" Tsuna walked past Chrome and quickly waved his arms. They all stopped talking immediately. Tsuna sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll have to admit I'm surprised as well, but if Shouichi says that Mukuro helped, then he did, so we owe him that. And plus he's helped us countless times before, _but_ we'll figure out what to do with him when he comes, okay?"

A few of them mumbled their agreement. As uncomfortable as the situation made them feel, Tsuna's words were law. All they could do was trust his judgment and be on guard when the man came, should they need to be.

With that fiasco taken care of, Tsuna walked up to the woman who was doing her best to appear disinterested. "From the little that Shouichi told me," Tsuna began, "it seems I have a lot to thank you for, Lal."

Lal Mirch folded her arms and averted her gaze from Tsuna. "Tch—all I did was babysit your bratty, younger selves."

"Even so," Tsuna smiled, "I appreciate everything you did." Before she could protest, Tsuna quickly hugged her, trying to convey all his thanks in that single gesture. Lal tensed for a moment, then hugged him back with a resigned sigh. Tsuna inwardly smirked as he felt Lal's grip on him tighten a little more than necessary.

He hadn't ever interacted with her much, but he knew that she was an important member of his father's organization and had always heard good things of her combat ability. And from the little he had seen of her personality, he found it amusing that she wasn't primarily a Cloud Flame user. It was probably the only thing keeping him from being "bitten," Tsuna thought wryly.

Tsuna ended the hug quickly and was pleased by the brief smile that graced Lal's face, though she easily turned it into a scowl before anyone else could see. He figured it was best to leave her alone, and Tsuna directed his attention to Shouichi.

"It worked," Tsuna said slowly.

"Yeah, it did." Shouichi smiled. "I'm glad I was able to help, though if it's all the same I think I'd rather not do something like that again." He held out his hand.

Tsuna ignored the offered hand and shocked Shouichi by hugging him tightly. "I know it must have been so hard for you and I'm so happy to know you're all right!" Tsuna cried. As much as he missed his Family, Shouichi had been foremost on his mind a lot lately. Tsuna knew that Shouichi's job was infinitely more dangerous than his.

"B-b-but I . . . you don't need . . ." Shouichi stammered, face flushed from embarrassment. "W-what I . . . nothing like what _you_—" The words died in his throat when Tsuna let go of him and fixed him with a fierce glare.

"What you did was nothing short of amazing, Shouichi," Tsuna said. "If it weren't for you then this entire plan would have ended horribly."

"B-but Byakuran knew I was up to something!" Shouichi protested. "It's a miracle he didn't kill me straight off—"

"That doesn't matter!" Tsuna hated it when people were so quick to undermine their worth. He was busy enough with trying to shake his Storm Guardian of the habit, and he didn't want to have to start on Shouichi. "Whether Byakuran knew or not, the plan succeeded and I'm standing here before you _alive_ because of all that you did!"

Tsuna's eyes softened as he gently grasped Shouichi's shoulders. "I know it had to be more difficult than any of us could ever imagine," he said, "and I'm sure you haven't had any time to relax or be yourself for many years." Shouichi stared at him in fear, too afraid to release nearly five years worth of repressed stress and frustration.

"_Please,_ Shouichi," Tsuna begged. He had to push a little harder to let the man be free. "You don't have to act any longer."

For a moment, Tsuna was afraid it didn't work. Shouichi continued to stare at him like a frightened child, but then the tears started flowing and he fell to his knees.

"It was so hard!" he sobbed. He clutched his stomach and nearly touched his head to the ground as he folded in on himself. "Ever since I got my memories back I've been plotting how to stop Byakuran! And ever since then he's kept me under constant surveillance! It was like I couldn't do anything without him knowing! It's a wonder I was ever able to meet with you to discuss our plans! The only place I was safe was in my head, and even then I was worried!"

Everyone stared at Shouichi in shock. Seeing and hearing the man unleash years of pain and suffering erased all the hate they'd harbored towards him since Tsuna's death.

Tsuna quickly dropped to his knees once again and threw his arms around Shouichi, adding his own tears to the man's plight.

" . . . to watch all your younger selves nearly die when they attacked the base! And I had to keep sending all these powerful fighters after them even though it was eating me up inside! Then having to—"

No one dared speak while Shouichi let out all his pain, but they did move closer; showing that he was alone no longer. As Shouichi wept in his arms, Tsuna did the best he could to comfort the man. This prolonged incident with Byakuran had brought about so much pain he couldn't even begin to grasp it all. Everyone had been hurt in different ways and Tsuna was struggling to help them all get through it.

It was his job as the boss—the Sky. He wasn't naive enough to think he could shoulder the burdens all by himself though—he wasn't fourteen anymore. As a result of Reborn's . . . less than conventional methods of teaching and Tsuna's own experiences, he now knew that his job was not to carry all the troubles from his Guardians, but rather to bring all his Guardians together so they'd all share it. They may all hold up the Sky, but the Sky had to be wide enough to let them grow and carry out their duties.

When Shouichi's cries had reduced to hiccups, Tsuna felt it was appropriate to speak again. "Feel better?" he teased as he scooted back and lifted Shouichi's head to face him.

Shouichi let out a strangled laugh and nodded. "Y-yeah." He wiped his eyes. "Thanks a lot, Tsunayoshi." He soon found a handkerchief shoved in his face. He glanced up to find Kyoko holding it out to him with a bright smile on her face.

"You can use this, Irie-kun," she said.

Haru rushed to Shouichi's side and held out a similar handkerchief. "Feel free to use Haru's as well!"

Tsuna watched in amusement as Shouichi was confronted with Kyoko and Haru's kindness. He always felt so lucky to have those two wonderful woman in his life. At the moment though, he was confused as to why the girls hadn't used the handkerchiefs themselves yet.

"Um . . . would you like to use mine, too?" A very flustered Shouichi turned his head to find _another_ handkerchief thrust in his face, this time offered by Chrome.

"You are EXTREMELY popular with the women!" Ryohei yelled, causing everyone to laugh and Shouichi to turn bright pink.

"Th-thanks," he said, grabbing all three. He carefully dried his face as he got back on his feet.

"We really are grateful," Tsuna said once Shouichi was finished.

Shouichi laughed. "Well, I'm glad to have been of service. I'm not the only person you need to thank though." He turned around. "Spanner!"

A tall blond emerged from his hiding spot in the trees with a half-eaten lollipop in his hand and a sheepish grin on his face.

"H-hello, everyone," he said.

Shouichi grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. "Spanner was a Millefiore mechanic who saved your younger self's life, helped him perfect the X-burner, and was a powerful asset against Byakuran!"

"I-I just wanted to see the X-Burner perfected," Spanner muttered, his face growing redder by the minute. "I didn't really do much."

Tsuna shook his head and placed a hand on Spanner's shoulder. "If Shouichi said you were a big help, then you were a big help. Thank you for everything." And because he was feeling exceptionally happy that day, Tsuna threw his arms around Spanner and pulled him into a tight hug.

"And if you like my X-Burner that much, I'll be sure to show it to you sometime," Tsuna said when he released the embarrassed mechanic.

The change was immediate. "Do you use contacts then?" Spanner asked, his body twitching with excitement.

"Contacts?" Tsuna frowned. "No—I don't use anything like that. I just use my intuition to know when my arms are stabilized." He laughed. "After enough practice I've pretty much got it down."

"Can you tell the amount of flames you use?" Spanner asked. "Your younger self was able to expel varying intensities of his flame."

"Really?" Tsuna's interest was piqued. He usually just put in as much power as he felt was necessary. "The contacts can really do that?"

"Of course!" Spanner had a gleam in his eyes that Tsuna usually saw in his Guardians whenever they wanted to show him a new attack. "I can make you some if you'd like!"

"Sure! I'd appreciate that," Tsuna said. Spanner looked beside himself with glee, and Tsuna found it difficult not to laugh. The mechanic's enthusiasm sure was catchy.

"All right then." Tsuna turned around and slung an arm around Shouichi and Spanner. "Everyone—while I'm sure my younger self has already done so, I would like to formally introduce you to the two newest members of our Family!" The two mechanics blushed as everybody cheered.

"Thank you, Tsunayoshi," Shouichi said.

Spanner smirked. "While I've technically met everyone, it's going to be weird to get used to all your older selves." Tsuna laughed at Spanner's remark, but the voice he heard next made his blood stop cold.

"Good work, Dame-Tsuna. You managed to get two valuable additions to your family."

Everyone froze in shock at the familiar voice, hardly daring to believe it.

Tsuna was the first to recover. He let go of Spanner and Shouichi and turned to the tree closest to him. "R-Reborn?" The Arcobaleno leapt off a tree branch and landed in front of Tsuna.

"Ciaossu."

Tsuna covered his mouth as tears started to once again flow down his face without restraint. Then without thinking about the consequences, he ran forward, dropped to his knees, and scooped the miniature hitman into his arms.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" Tsuna wailed. And it was true. When Reborn died, Tsuna felt a little bit of himself die along with him. Things with the Millefiore family were getting worse by the day, and it wasn't until most of the Arcobaleno had perished did everyone realize how bad it truly was. Tsuna couldn't remember much, but he was nothing more than a zombie for three full days after Reborn's "funeral." Apparently when an Arcobaleno died their body just vanished into thin air, leaving naught but their colorless pacifier behind.

During those three days, his fellow Guardians made sure to give him plenty of space. Looking back on it Tsuna knew they all had to be dealing with the loss themselves. Reborn was special to everyone. It was an unspoken understanding that Reborn was some sort of God—a dangerous and powerful "infant" who could read minds and overcome anything.

Yet his death changed all that. His death reminded them all that despite his power and odd little quirks he wasn't invincible. That he was human.

It was because of Reborn's death that Tsuna came about creating the plan that he did. To join together with Shouichi and Hibari to figure out how to save their world from Byakuran. Whenever he had a spare moment from putting his plan into action, Tsuna would laugh quietly and find it amazing how even with his death, Reborn still managed to teach him a lesson and give him the motivation to do what he needed to do.

"You're still too soft to be a Mafia boss," Reborn said, yet his scolding words lacked the harshness that usually accompanied it.

"Sh-shut up, Reborn!" Tsuna half-cried, half-laughed. "I've been the Mafia boss for a few years now!"

"Then it seems I still have some more work to do."

In an all too familiar gesture, Tsuna felt himself thrown backwards. Really—he couldn't have expected less. Though it was a miracle that he was able to touch Reborn long enough to _hug _him. When he was officially announced as the Vongola Decimo, Reborn had squeezed his shoulder in a kind gesture for a few moments then flashed him a genuine, proud smile, but that had been the extent of Reborn's physical interaction with Tsuna. And Tsuna was okay with it, because Reborn was just similar to Hibari in that way. It was just who he was.

As his Guardians helped him to his feet, Tsuna smiled at his dear friend. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Reborn."

The Arcobaleno smirked. "Looking after you adds years on my life."

Tsuna laughed. "What do you mean years? You're only turning one this year, right, Reborn?"

"I—"

"Reborn!"

"Tsuna-nii!"

"Everyone! You're back!"

They all turned to the direction of the base and saw Bianchi, Fuuta, and Giannini come rushing towards them. As expected, Bianchi scooped Reborn into her arms as tears fell down her face. Reborn merely gave her a small smile and allowed her to hold him. Both Fuuta and Giannini decided that tackling Tsuna was the best way to proceed. Fuuta wrapped his arms around Tsuna's shoulders while Giannini wrapped arms around his waist. It took every ounce of Tsuna's sense of balance not to fall over from the double attack.

The two then started blubbering at once, expressing their happiness that Tsuna was actually alive and they were so worried, but grateful things turned out well. Once they had said their fill, Tsuna gingerly detached from their vice-like grip and smiled down at them—or slightly up, in Fuuta's case. It always did irk Tsuna that Fuuta was a full centimeter and a half taller than him.

"I apologize for deceiving you like that," he said. "And I'd like to thank you for helping our younger selves during the battle. It must have been hard."

Fuuta shook his head. "No, it wasn't Tsuna-nii! Everyone was nice and did their best." He gave Tsuna a warm smile. "It was actually quite nostalgic really."

Tsuna smiled back. "I'm sure it was." He wrapped his arms around the younger man. As Fuuta had become less and less obsessed with his ranking abilities, he started devoting more of his time to secretarial duties of the Vongola Family. He helped keep Tsuna's head on straight about issues like their financial stability, relations with other Families, and the like. Tsuna felt very grateful to have Fuuta at his side like that because the young man was quite meticulous and attentive to detail, and he also had a rather impressive memory. The Vongola boss figured it was a trait acquired from years of ranking.

"It was fun equipping them with new technology during the Choice battle," Giannin said.

Tsuna chuckled. "I'm sure it was." He pat Giannini's back kindly and was rewarded with a big smile. When the day came that Giannini started to actually show some of his father's talent for inventions and engineering, Tsuna couldn't have been more relieved. It had been difficult dealing with the deficient weapons and machines that Giannini would "upgrade" and quite honestly, Tsuna had feared for Giannini's life, considering the death glares he had been on the receiving end of. But when his genius finally showed through, Reborn bullied Tsuna into bringing Giannini into the family and Tsuna was grateful that he did so.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by Bianchi. She kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him. Tsuna smiled back and hugged her. Once he got past her crazed obsession with Poison Cooking he was able to get along with Bianchi quite well. And he deeply appreciated the way she would always protect Kyoko and Haru from danger. Bianchi was able to watch their backs without really seeming to and Tsuna always felt safe when they were with her.

"Thank you for watching over them," he said.

Bianchi just winked. "It was a pleasure."

Tsuna then turned his attention to his surrounding Family and grinned. "Thank you all for coming to meet me. I've missed you all so much and I'm so grateful you're all doing well." His declaration was met with cheers all around and to his horror, most everyone charged as they decided they wanted another hug.

* * *

That night Tsuna lay on his back, gazing up at the training room ceiling while being completely surrounded by his sleeping Family. When they finally entered the underground facility, it was evening, and all the women left immediately to prepare a large dinner. Before entering, Tsuna's stomach had grumbled loudly, reminding everyone that he hadn't eaten anything for an entire year. He blushed deeply as everyone laughed and it was decided that a party was in order. Fuuta had laughed at the declaration and said everyone's younger selves held parties whenever someone from the past came to join them. As silly as it was, Tsuna was grateful to know that his younger self and friends had the time to have fun despite the danger they were in. The guilt at having to bring them all into this mess would never leave him, but just knowing that it wasn't entirely unbearable for them eased the burden somewhat.

The meal that was prepared was nothing short of amazing. Everyone ate until they were stuffed. Then Tsuna found himself bombarded with attention as everyone seemed to fight to speak to him or get his attention. Things started to calm down after an hour, with people being a little more content to talk amongst themselves, or fight in some cases. Yet as they fought, Tsuna could easily see how at ease and happy they were, and Tsuna was grateful for that. He could tell this was the most relaxed anyone had been in a long time. A weight was lifted off their shoulders and they all relished in this opportunity to be normal again.

Finally, it got to be so late that even _Ryohei_ was nodding off, and so Tsuna made the executive decision that it was time to go to sleep. His efforts to shepherd everyone into their respective rooms was met with unanimous objection, so he relented and came up with a solution for them all to just sleep together in the enormous training room they had used for the party. It worked out perfectly due to the fact that it was one of the only places that would be able to fit all of them, and also because a fair number of people had passed out from exhaustion anyway.

And secretly? Tsuna was more than willing to spend this night with everyone. He missed them all so dearly, and would have felt as lonely as he did in that coffin in his expansive room. (Though Tsuna chose to ignore the fact that he was dead asleep—if one would pardon the pun—for the entirety of his time in the coffin, thank you very much)

So now here he was, completely awake while being surrounded by his loving Family. He didn't feel like sleeping anytime soon, so he merely watched them sleep.

"The weak herbivores made a complete mockery of themselves. One would wonder how they could be as powerful as they are."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow and propped himself up on his elbows. "Oh really?" He sent a taunting glance in Hibari's direction. "Says the man who came and joined the party even after he gave _such_ an exit earlier."

Hibari huffed and folded his arms as he leaned against the door frame, Hibird on his shoulder. The dimmed hallway light cast a soft glow against his body but Tsuna could still see his face. "Don't misunderstand me. I'm not such a fool as to deny free food when it's available." His hand then reached out and casually stroked Hibird's feathers.

"You could have joined in on all the fun you know," Tsuna said, "instead of sulking in the corner like you did. Though if I didn't know any better—" (here Tsuna paused for effect) "—I'd say you actually _enjoyed_ yourself."

"Tch, as if. And if you ever make such a ridiculous notion again, I'll bite you to death." Both of them knew the old threat didn't work on Tsuna anymore, but it had become more of a habit between them more than anything.

"Whatever the reason was, Hibari, I'm glad you came back." Tsuna pushed himself into a sitting position. "I never did get the chance to thank you for everything—"

"No need to thank me. I only did what was convenient for me at the time." And although Hibari turned his head away, he was unable to hide the small smile that graced his features. But it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"It was bothersome though," Hibari continued, turning back to glare at Tsuna, "having to watch over them. I especially had a hard time with those two herbivores," he said, nudging his head in the direction of the two closest to Tsuna. "I almost had to bash their heads in to get your body out of their grasp."

Tsuna let out a fond and strained smile as he turned to the two Guardians lying next to him. "Yes, I suppose you did," he said softly. He reached his hand out and first stroked Gokudera's hair. The man subconsciously leaned into the touch, nearly purring as he smiled. Then Tsuna did the same to Yamamoto's hair, who also leaned towards the touch as a few tears trailed down his face.

The Vongola boss was snapped from his trance by the sound of Hibari's less than subtle coughs. "If that is all you have to say, then I will return to my facility. Kusakabe is most likely waiting for me there." He turned around to leave.

Tsuna nodded. "Please pass along my gratitude to Kusakabe for all his help."

Without looking back, Hibari gave a small inclination of his head before disappearing out of sight. Within seconds the hallway light was extinguished, and Tsuna was left in the dark. He blinked for a few moments to adjust his eyes, then cast one last sweep of his slumbering Family. Tears came to his eyes once more and he thanked the gods for choosing to bless him with such wonderful people.

He was the luckiest man in the world.

* * *

**Wow. That was intense to write. I really wanted to convey the love and strong relationships they all had though. I hope I did each person justice! I wanted to show how important each person was to Tsuna and how deep their bonds were. ****It also bugged me how people always forgot about Irie—that poor guy was suffering, too! Being undercover all that time, harboring all the guilt that Byakuran gained his ability because of him, having to load all those bullets to save Tsuna, having to drag those fourteen-year-old kids into a war, and forcing everyone to hate him. It's a miracle the guy didn't lose it. He's quite the hero in my book. **

**A****kira Amano is just so amazing how she's able to keep these many characters in line! **

****And I don't know for sure whether or not Haru or Kyoko knew about Tsuna's condition, but considering how they acted when they saw the younger Tsuna it didn't seem like they knew he had died. So I'm just gonna go with that. :D**


End file.
